Is There a Better Approach to Vertical Merger Analysis?

The DOJ and FTC have lost a series of vertical merger cases over the past several years. One possible reason for these losses is the government’s strategy – specifically, that there has been too much focus on the often technical details of models such as raising rivals’ costs that have become standardized tools of vertical analysis. These tools can lead to an overly narrow way of viewing harms and a tendency to discount efficiencies in vertical mergers. As the economics literature has show